Can you tell me something about the life of legendary movie strong man Steve Reeves?—Stephanie Lynn Nevels, Wilmington, Ohio

Reeves, who was born in Glasgow, Mont., and grew up in Oakland, Calif., was a bodybuilder who made his fame in more than a dozen Italian-made sword-and-sandal epics such as “Hercules,” “Hercules Unchained,” “Goliath and the Barbarians” and “The Last Days of Pompeii.” After retiring from film, he became a horse breeder and fitness advisor and authored “Building the Classic Physique the Natural Way.” He died in 2000 at 74 of complications of lymphoma. Reeves’ “The Slave” (1962) and “Sandokan the Great” (1963) are available on DVD.